Zev Porat

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

IS SUICIDE THE UNPARDONABLE SIN?

by Rev. Joda Collins

The question "is suicide the unpardonable sin" is not a good question because it assumes a Christian is saved and stays saved by confession of and repenting of sin. The backbone of this question is, once a person is dead he or she cannot ask forgiveness of suicide. No one is saved as a result of confession of and repentance of (from) sin. No one is saved because he or she asked for forgiveness of specific sins or issued a blanket request for the forgiveness of every sin he or she has or ever will commit. If it were true that salvation from hell is the product of repentance of sin then Judas is in heaven because he repented of sin. "...Judas...repented...." Matthew 27:3, King James 2000 Bible.

Romans 10:9 and 10 state,"...if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

Romans 10:9 and 10 does not state, "If we confess all of our sins and repent (turn from, forsake, quit) all of our sins, and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we will be saved. For with confession and repentance of sin man believes unto righteousness and with the confession and repentance of sin we are saved." If that is a valid translation (or implication) of Romans 10:9-10, then you are not saved. You have not quit all of your sins yet; you simply justify some of them or ignore the fact you are sinning relative to some sins. (Be honest!) Some of your sins, you are not even sorry for and have no intention of quitting. Some of your sins, you do not even know are sins! In reality, you are not a good person at all. Take heart. No one is.

You have to share this with your friends. This is such an amazing performance of such a beautiful so

"For by grace are ye saved...it is the gift of God, not of works...."Ephesians 2:8-9, KJV. Anyone who is trying to live a life of repenting of sin knows how much work that is!

So, be honest with yourself and be realistic. No one is saved because they confessed, repented of (turned from) or felt sorry for every sin or selected sins. No one is saved because they became a better person.

We are saved because we honored and recognized God's criteria for salvation, which is to confess that Jesus is Lord and we believe that God raised him from the dead. Our faith is evidenced by our verbal confirmation of both of these realities. As a work of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit makes us ashamed of our sinful nature. "..he...convict(s)...of sin...." John 16:8, ISV.

Being ashamed of our sins, confessing our sins, and repenting of sin is a by-product of salvation, not a self-induced prerequisite for salvation from Hell. Those things are a part of our salvation experience, but those things are not what we do for God in order to get saved, but evidence of what the Holy Spirit is doing for us as and in us when we meet God's criteria of confessing that Jesus is Lord and believing that God raised him from the dead. When a person jumps off a 10-story building it is not their will that takes over and pushes them to the ground. That person made a heart commitment and once that is done, a law of God does its part. I hope you see the connection. Please read a companion article found at http://ppsimmons.blogspot.com/2016/03/jesus-did-not-pay-for-our-sin.html#comment-form.

Jesus did not pay the penalty for our sin. The wages (penalty) of sin is physical death (Romans 6:23) followed by eternal Hell (Matthew 25...

God forbid that we should put the burden of full confession of all sins, full repentance of (turning from) and/or total overwhelming grief for every sin on others as a condition of their faith in Christ, when we have not yet met those criteria. God forbid that we should try to negate or dilute the grace of God by implying that our work of a mustered partial confession of some of our sins, a partial turning from some sins or a feeling of shame over selected sins somehow combine with the power of the Cross to create a salvation experience. Salvation is either all grace or all work. Salvation from Hell cannot be a combination of God's grace and our work.

"...they sought it (salvation from hell) not by faith, but...by the works of the law....they stumbled....if (salvation from hell is) by grace then it is no(t)...of works: otherwise grace is no(t)...grace..." Romans 9:32 and 11:6. KJV.

Do you see how inappropriate the question "Is suicide the unpardonable sin?" is for the Christian? There is only one unpardonable sin and that cannot be committed by the Christian. The unpardonable sin is the refusal to confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and honestly believe that God raised him from the dead -- and to refuse to do those two things for one's entire life.

Do Christians go to heaven when they commit suicide? Yes. They do, however, go early.

Do I encourage or justify suicide? No. Why? Job said, "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away." Job 1:21. That applies to material possessions and life itself.